Trinamool Congress supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee has predicted that her party will secure more than 226 seats in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also hit out at the BJP, saying that the saffron party’s numbers would decline in the upcoming elections. (ANI). The ruling TMC announced its list of candidates for the upcoming polls, with Mamata Banerjee contesting from the Bhabanipur assembly constituency.. Addressing a press conference in Kolkata, Banerjee said the TMC will contest 291 of the 294 seats in the state, predicting that her party will secure more than 226 seats.. ALSO READ | It’s Mamata Banerjee vs BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari in Bhabanipur: Rematch on as TMC list out for West Bengal elections. “We will contest 291 of the 294 seats. The remaining three seats will be contested by our ally, Anit Thapa-led BGPM, in the Darjeeling hills,” Banerjee said, while announcing the names of candidates.. Exuding confidence in her party’s performance in the upcoming polls, she added, “We will win more than 226 seats in the 2026 assembly polls.”. The West Bengal chief minister also sought to reassure party leaders and workers who weren’t fielded for the assembly elections, saying that space would be made for them within the organisation.. “All those who could not be accommodated in the candidate list will be accommodated in the organisation,” she said.. Mamata Banerjee’s candidature from Bhabanipur implies that it will be a direct contest between her and BJP’s Suvendu Adhikari.. ALSO READ | Election dates for Kerala, West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry out | Check full schedule. During the presser, Banerjee also hit out at the BJP, saying that the saffron party’s numbers would decline in the upcoming elections. “The BJP’s tally will decrease in this election. They will receive a befitting reply for their anti-people policies,” she said.. West Bengal is set to witness a high-stakes electoral battle for its 294-member legislative assembly in two phases. Elections for 152 seats will be held on April 23, 2026, while the remaining 142 seats will go to polls on April 29.2026.. The Election Commission of India said that the vote counting process is scheduled to take place on May 4, 2026. 

 New Delhi, As on February 28, a total of 11.69 crore hospital admissions across the country, amounting to ₹1.73 lakh crore, have been authorised under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana , Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav told the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.. Hospital treatments worth ₹1.73 lakh crore sanctioned under Ayushman Bharat, Rajya Sabha told. Out of these, 4.40 crore hospital admissions amounting to ₹68,302.23 crore were authorised during the last two financial years FY 2023-24 and FY 2024-25.. The significant utilisation of the scheme indicates that eligible beneficiaries are availing the benefit to access healthcare services, thereby reducing their out-of-pocket expenditure, Jadhav said in a written reply.. The AB-PMJAY provides health coverage of ₹5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation to 12 crore families constituting the bottom 40 per cent of India’s population.. In March 2024, approximately 37 lakh families of accredited social health activists, and Anganwadi workers and helpers were included under the scheme. The scheme was further expanded to cover six crore senior citizens of age 70 years and above, belonging to 4.5 crore families irrespective of their socio-economic status.. As on February 28,a total of 43.52 crore Ayushman cards have been created, including 1.14 crore cards created under the Ayushman Vay Vandana category for senior citizens aged 70 years and above, Jadhav stated.. Also, a total of 36,229 hospitals have been empanelled under the scheme across the country, of which 19,483 are public and 16,746 are private hospitals.. Since the launch of the scheme, the health benefit packages have been revised five times.. Initially, the scheme included 1,391 packages, but the latest Health Benefit Package 2022, comprises 1,961 packages across 27 specialties. This includes packages for chronic illnesses like cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other non-communicable diseases, Jadhav said.. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. 

 Over 1,000 vehicles were reportedly stranded near the South Portal of the Atal Tunnel after sudden heavy snowfall hit Manali and the upper reaches of Kullu district, prompting a large-scale rescue and snow clearance operation, officials said.. Tourist vehicles stand stuck in traffic amid fresh snowfall at Atal Tunnel Rohtang near Manali, in Kullu on Monday. (Ajay Kumar). Heavy snowfall has been impacting traffic at the tunnel since Monday afternoon and snow clearance operations by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are underway at the South Portal, news agency ANI reported on Tuesday.. “Since yesterday afternoon, there has been heavy snowfall at Atal Tunnel in Manali and the upper reaches of the district, and since yesterday itself, BRO’s operation is being enforced at the south portal of the tunnel,” Deputy Commissioner of Kullu, Anurag Chand Sharma was quoted as saying.. Also Read | 1,500 vehicles stranded near Atal Tunnel cleared. Police deployed to ensure safety and help. Manali and surrounding areas were blanketed in fresh snow, covering houses and mountains, while higher reaches across the state also recorded snowfall.. Khadrala in Shimla district received 10.2 cm, Kalpa 6.4 cm, Gondhla and Jot around 3 cm each, and Kukumseri 1.5 cm.. Thunderstorms and lightning were reported in several areas, including Shimla, Kufri, Jubberhatti, Kangra and Sundernagar, with parts of Shimla district also witnessing hailstorms.. According to the IMD, a fresh western disturbance is expected to impact northwest India from the night of March 17, with its effects likely in Himachal Pradesh between March 18 and March 21.. An Orange Alert has been issued for March 18 and 19, warning of hailstorms and thunderstorms in districts including Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Kangra and Sirmaur.. Tourists stranded in nearby areas too. “Some colleagues and I reached the Atal Tunnel to assist as we got the news of tourists being stranded,” said Dhanraj, a taxi driver, PTI reported.. He said they have been evacuating tourists in 4×4 vehicles, adding that most of those stranded have now been safely moved from the area.. “(We are) Stranded here since Saturday night and now gradually being moved towards Manali. There are no arrangements for food or drinking water,” said Prem Lal, a stranded driver.. A tourist said he was provided food by social organisations working in Sissu.. “We set out from Manali towards Keylong on Saturday when the snowfall was light. But on return, the snowfall intensified significantly, and we have been stranded here since Sunday evening. But now vehicles are being evacuated from the area,” said Amit, a commuter. 

 The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared as unconstitutional a key provision in the Code on Social Security, 2020, that restricted maternity leave for adoptive mothers to those adopting children below three months of age, holding that all adoptive mothers will be entitled to 12 weeks of leave from the date of adoption, irrespective of the child’s age.. For representational purposes only. (File Photo). A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan ruled that the age-based classification under Section 60(4) of the Code was “discriminatory” and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, emphasising that adoption is an equally valid pathway to parenthood and cannot be treated differently from biological childbirth.. In a notable observation, the bench also urged the Union government to consider introducing paternity leave as a social welfare measure, signalling the need for a more gender-neutral and inclusive approach to caregiving.. Delivering the judgment, justice Pardiwala said the provision failed the test of constitutional scrutiny as it bore no rational nexus with the object of maternity protection, which is to ensure care, bonding and integration of the child into the family.. “The impugned provision is held to be discriminatory both for the adoptive mother as well as the adoptive child. Adoption is an equally meaningful pathway for creating a family…biological factors cannot exclusively determine familial values and entitlements,” the court said.. Reading down Section 60(4), the court held that the statutory benefit of 12 weeks’ maternity leave must apply equally to adoptive and commissioning mothers, beginning from the date of adoption, without any age restriction on the child.. The bench underscored that the purpose of maternity leave does not vary based on how a child enters a family, rejecting the distinction drawn between mothers adopting infants below three months and those adopting older children.. “A mother cannot be differentiated between one who brings home a child less than three months and one who adopts a child of a higher age,” the court held. It added that the right to reproductive autonomy is not confined to biological birth, expanding the constitutional understanding of parenthood to include adoption.. The court placed significant emphasis on the best interests of the child, noting that older children, particularly those adopted from institutional care, often require greater time for emotional adjustment and integration into a new family. “The paramount consideration has to be the best interest of the child…including the period required for the child to integrate into the new family,” the bench said.. By denying maternity leave for children above three months, the law not only disadvantaged adoptive mothers but also undermined the welfare and developmental needs of adopted children, the court held.. The ruling comes in a petition filed by Karnataka-based lawyer Hamsaanandini Nanduri, who had 

 Chennai, AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has claimed that the current DMK regime has transformed Tamil Nadu into a “hub of drug trafficking” and alleged that people wonder if the state government was protecting the innocent public or “shielding the anti-social elements”.. DMK regime made TN a hub of drug trafficking, claims AIADMK chief Palaniswami. After M K Stalin took over the reins as Chief Minister in 2021, Tamil Nadu has been turned into a hub of ganja trafficking, illicit liquor sales and drug mafia. “This government has created a situation where there is no place in the state where ganja is not available. To put it bluntly, media reports show college students and even school students using drugs, including ganja, in a very casual manner,” the AIADMK general secretary has claimed.. “This has raised serious doubts among the people as to whether the ruling party and the chief minister are protecting the people or shielding those involved in the crimes,” Palaniswami said in a post on the social media platform ‘X’ on Monday night.. People across the state were agitated due to the increasing crimes and wanted this “incompetent and anti-people regime of the puppet chief minister to end,” the AIADMK chief said.. The drug menace apart, the brutal sexual assaults and murders against women and children have become rampant as never before.. “There have been about 30 lockup deaths in the last 5 years of the DMK rule. In the last two months alone, 4 Scheduled Caste youths have died in custody. People are clearly realising where law and order is heading under the DMK regime – a classic case of fence grazing the crops – and are deeply distressed,” Palaniswami alleged.. People felt insecure over the current law and order situation and wanted to know why the DMK government has not taken any action to ensure law and order, he said and appealed to the people to throw out the “anti-people regime”.. DMK government had always been dismissive of such allegations, and days ago, a top official, citing data, had said that the incidence of crime has witnessed a steady decline in the state.. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.